The invention pertains to a binding-in machine for pressing in and joint forming books.
After casing-in the book block in the case, a crease-free and permanent glued connection between the end sheets of the book block and the inner surfaces of the case is produced by pressing in the book. In industrial book production, this full surface pressing step is carried out on so-called binding-in machines in combination with the joint forming, in which the case joints are formed and glued.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,921,322 describes a binding-in machine with a multitude of pressing devices that are arranged in a straight row and spaced apart from one another by identical distances, wherein each pressing device features a pair of opposite pressing plates that are spaced apart from one another by a variable distance and serve for exerting a pressing force upon the sides of a book. Pairs of oppositely arranged and heated joint forming rails are respectively spaced apart from one another by a variable distance and assigned to the stationary pressing devices in order to form the case joints. The joint forming rails are situated on a transport carriage that can be moved back and forward and simultaneously serve as transport means for incrementally advancing the books from station to station, wherein these joint forming rails ultimately return into their starting position in order to receive and transport another book. The joint forming consequently is realized by briefly pressing in the joint forming rails repeatedly, wherein this requires higher temperatures in the joint forming rails that are particularly critical when heat-sensitive case materials are used.
DE 10 2004 061 995 A1 describes an additional development of the aforementioned binding-in machine, in which the joint forming devices are situated on transport means that are guided along a closed circulation path such that the books can be advanced from pressing station to pressing station in a cyclic fashion while being constantly taken hold of by one and the same pair of joint forming rails. The books are no longer released by the joint forming rails such that more time is available for the heat to act upon the case material. One disadvantage can be seen in that the books are only held in the case joint by the joint forming rails during their transport.
EP 384 129 B1 discloses a binding-in machine with a multitude of pressing devices that are continuously driven along a closed oval circulation path, as well as joint forming devices arranged on the pressing devices. The infeed of the cased book blocks takes place on a straight section of the transport system and the delivery of the formed and backed books takes place on the opposite straight section. The full surface pressing is carried out while the entire surface of the books is permanently accommodated in the pressing devices and the joint forming rails may be continuously held in the closed position. The disadvantage of this machine can be seen in the significant constructive expenditure for the transport system with the circulating pressing devices and for the mechanisms for feeding, aligning and delivering the books into and out of the continuously moving pressing devices.
DE 44 22 783 A1 describes a binding-in machine, in which a series of pressing devices are arranged on a rotor that is intermittently driven about a vertical axis of rotation, wherein the pressing plates are arranged quasi-tangentially on the rotor circumference. The joint forming devices are situated on the pressing devices and moved forward together therewith. From the infeed to the delivery, the books are permanently held in one and the same pressing device. In this case, the joint forming rails may remain closed in an uninterrupted fashion.
This machine design results in a complicated and heavy construction due to the fact that, among other things, the driving elements for generating the pressing force during full surface pressing are arranged on a rotating rotor and the forces of pressure acting upon the books for realizing the full surface pressing need to be absorbed in the rotor construction. The high forces of gravity resulting therefrom limit the cycle rate. This cycle rate is also limited due to the fact that the books can only be fed into the pressing devices once the rotor has come to a standstill, and that not only the infeed, but also the aligning and post-forming need to take place during the standstill phase. A capacity increase is achieved with the paired arrangement of the pressing devices on the rotor. However, this requires a substantial additional expenditure for the two parallel book flows in the infeed section and the delivery section of the machine.
Another disadvantage of known binding-in machines with circulating pressing devices is their significant space requirement.